Arab Revolt

The Arab Revolt was a theater of World War I that took place in Arabia, Palestine, and Syria when Hussein ibn Ali of Mecca revolted against the nationalistic Ottoman Empire. British armored cars and Arab horsemen carried out operations that tied down many Turkish troops, and the revolt ended officially with the Ottoman Empire's surrender in October 1918; some fighting continued until 1919. Despite the Arabs' goal to set up their own kingdoms, the British and French took over the Middle East.

War
The increasingly nationalistic Ottoman government in Constantinople alienated many of the empire's Arab subjects. Britain encouraged Sherif Hussein ibn Ali of Mecca to declare an Arab revolt against Ottoman rule in June 1916. Support for the revolt wavered until December 1916, when Hussein's son Feisal, aided by British adviser Colonel T.E. Lawrence and a British warship, successfully defended the port of Yenbo from a Turkish attack. In July 1917 Feisal captured Aqaba, which became the base for operations north into Palestine. The Arab guerrillas operated in support of British regular forces commnded by General Sir Edmund Allenby, which broke through the Turkish Beersheba-Gaza line into Palestine in the fall of 1917 and occupied Jerusalem and following December. The Arab guerrillas carred out raids on Turkish road and rail communications and tied down large numbers of Turkish troops. In 1918 they carried out combined operations with British regular forces using armored cars as well as camels and horses. British and Arab cavalry occupied Damascus on October 1, 1918. Some isolated Turkish strongholds were still resisting Arab forces in 1919. Many Arabs felt betrayed by postwar arrangements in the Middle East, which saw Syria and Palestine come under French and British rule respectively (mandated by the League of Nations), rather than under Arab control.